But when
The lederhosen carry the name of a Dutch beer,
The only problem is that the Dutch brewery which makes
"They put our trousers in the bin," said an aggrieved Peer Swinkels, the chairman of
Critics say the decision to make more than 1,000 Dutch fans strip off last Friday is evidence of the extraordinary lengths to which Fifa has gone to protect the interests of World Cup sponsors - at the expense of ordinary fans. Fifa, however, says it has done nothing wrong and is entitled to defend itself against what it calls "ambush marketing".
Fifa said its six suppliers and 15 official partners - among them Yahoo, McDonald's and the American brewery that makes Budweiser - had spent €700m (£480m) on the tournament. Without their money, it would be impossible to stage the competition, it said.
But the zeal with which Fifa guards its commercial interests has gone down badly with fans - as has its decision to offer 14% of all match tickets to sponsors. Only 8% have gone to national football associations.
"It's ridiculous," said Sjoerd Schreurs, a Dutch supporter who had to take his trousers off. "I queued for 25 minutes to get in. When I reached the front, an official told me: 'You're not getting in like that'. I took my trousers off. I managed to chuck them over the fence to some friends. But another official spotted them and took them away.'
"I watched the game in my pants," Mr Schreurs, 33, added. "Fortunately I had quite a long T-shirt."
Mr Swinkels dreamed up the idea of orange Leeuwenhose, or lion trousers, last year. Dutch fans who purchased 12 cans of
Mr Swinkels has written to Fifa's president, Sepp Blatter, asking whether Dutch fans would have to remove their trousers again when
But some industry experts say Fifa's intervention was no surprise. Nigel Currie, chairman of the European Sponsorship Association, said: "My view is that if there is a deliberate attempt to ambush an event, it should be stamped on."
Mr Currie, who is also director of the sports marketing agency brand Rapport, said: "Sponsors pay huge amounts of money and it is all about TV exposure. If people are caught on screen drinking the wrong kind of drink, it is unhelpful to sponsors. But it should come down to commonsense and a sense of proportion."
There were also allegations yesterday that England supporters at last Thursday's Trinidad and Tobago match were forced to hand over Nike clothing at the entrance of the stadium in Nuremberg, because Adidas - the German sportswear giant and Nike's deadly rival - is the official World Cup sponsor. Last night, however, Fifa denied that any Nike clothing had been confiscated.